Design for print - Printing methods explained

Collecting all blogged information about printing methods, into one area, making it easier  to access

Kinds: Rotary, digital, screen, and pad.

Rotary:

Plates are wrapped around a cylinder, an automates process and the material to be printed can be sheet fed or on a roll. 

Plate > Blanket cylinder > Impression Cylinder

3 Main types: 

- Lithography

- Rotogravure

- Flexography

Offset Lithography - Onto a rubber roller

Etched aluminium plates wrapped around a cylinder transfer ink to an 'offset' ribber blanket roller and then to a print surface. Sheet or web fed.

WEDNESDAY 19TH - PRINTERS VISIT (Keep date free)

Rotogravure / photogravure 

Copper plates (etches deeper, plates last longer) transfer ink directly to print surface, usually rolls.

Plates are more durable and so are good for long print runs

Typical gravure job - Lino flooring, newspaper if a long run

Flexography

Rubber plate, relief printing, silicon surface e.g Crisp packet

A positive mirror image rubber polymer plate, on a cylinder, transfers 'sticky' ink directly to print surface. Usually roll fed.

E.g Chocolate foiled wrappers, bottle labels

Litho - planographic (Flat)

Rotogravure - Intaglio (Etched)

Flexography - Relief (Raised surface)

Digital printing

Repproduction of images by translating digital code direct from a computer to a material without an intermediate physical process. 

'Rip' - Transfers from computer to printer  (software processes it)

Digital printing for mock ups, to check stock and layout

Screen print

A printmaking technique that uses a woven mesh template.

PAD printing

A process that transfers 2d image to a 3d object

e.g - Pens, flasks, gold balls etc

Colours:

Grayscale : Black and white continuous tone

Duo tone: Continuous tone image is printed in 2 or more spot colours

Spot colour: One or more specially mixed RGB colours

Mono - One colour

C, U , M, coated, uncoated, matte

dots = accurately reproduced in CMYK

Process guide - CMYK - first page shown in solids and tints. DE: Europe

Colour bridge - 1089 colours, shows closest CYMK next to each of the solid RGB colours.

Pantone books provide colours for screen too, for web design.

The guide really showed me how to use pantone swatches, Unfortunately I missed the colour theory session in my first year in which class mates were shown how to use them, I felt like i'd missed out. This tutorial has given me a clearer understanding.

An intro into colour theory

Monochromatic - Adding light and dark to create a tone of a colour

Analogues - Colours next to each other on the colour wheel

Complementary - Colours directly opposite each other on the colour wheel

Compliments: Colours of the same value but are opposite hues, when desaturated, they are the same shade of grey. Not comfortable to look at, line between two seems to wobble. Not brilliant colours to work with.

If using bright colours and need a highlight or shadow, stick to using white or black.


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source: http://www.frankel.co.uk

Duotone:

Reproduction of an image using the superimposition of one contrasting color halftone (traditionally black) over another color halftone. This is most often used to bring out middle tones and highlights of an image. The most common colors used are blue, yellow, browns and reds.

Now due to recent advances in technology, duotones, tritones, and quadtones can be easily created using image manipulation programs.

Thermography:

A highly cost effective way to add a gloss raised finish to all or part of printed products.

Fully compatible with laser printers.

Ideal for Invitations, business cards, letter headings and compliment slips.

We can print to bespoke order on any thickness of material.

Ideal for use in conjunction with foiling, embossing and lithography.

Thermography is a process that applies powder to ink while the ink is wet and is heated and cured to give a high gloss raised image.

Printed sheets are passed though a powder hopper on a conveyer belt allowing the powder to stick to the wet ink.  Excess thermo powder is then vacuumed off and the sheet continues along the belt into an oven there the thermo powder becomes molten.

Whilst in it molten state the thermographed sheet is exposed to ultra violate where it is cured and is instantly dry to the touch ensuring that the finished stationery can be used through a laser print.

Applications for Thermography

Viprint have taken Thermography to new levels offering double sided and multicolour Thermography to bespoke order on any thickness of material.

One off Corporate invitations and business cards to complete corporate image re launches are common place at Viprint.

Large city banks are benefiting from our next day service.

With a firm commitment to developing Thermography to its full potential, Viprint have increased the applications for Thermography vastly.

We firmly believe that we are now world leaders in art of Thermography.

Foiling & Embossing

Foiling and embossing can be used on the same image, firstly foiled and then embossed. Again logos are incorporated into many corporate identities, used especially on corporate invitations, business cards, letter headings and compliment slips.

A highly cost effective way to add metallic colour to all or part of printed products.

Fully compatible with laser printers.

Ideal for Invitations, business cards, letter headings and compliment slips ect.

We can print to order on any thickness of material.

Ideal for use in conjunction with thermography, embossing and lithography.

Embossing

Embossing uses the same principle as die stamping. A female block is produced using zinc, magnesium, copper, brass or steel. These are process engraved to one depth or hand engraved to multiple depths.

In simple terms the material to be embossed is pushed into the die using a male counterforce.

Embossing can be used to raise a printed or foiled image. It also used to “Blind Emboss” images, this raises the image on plain paper.

Embossed logos are incorporated into many corporate identities, used especially on corporate invitations, business cards, letter headings and compliment slips.

-A highly cost effective way to raise images from a plain or printed.

-Fully compatible with laser printers.

-Ideal for Invitations, business cards, letter headings and compliment slips etc.